Title for this chapter based on "Face My Fears" by Utada Hikaru (from the Kingdom Hearts 3 OST)
Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within
Chapter 4 - Face My Fears
"Lucina's gone missing!"
"What?!" Those words were the last words Captain Falcon expected to hear after Lucina seemingly made a smooth recovery at the hospital, especially considering what happened when he visited her the other day. He thought that for sure, life would have gone back to normal in Smash City and she would be fine...that he had successfully patched things up with her.
After regaining some of his composure, he reluctantly asked, "D...do you know where she is?"
"We don't know," Shulk replied on the other side of the line. "We've formed a search party that is looking around right now. I suggest you meet up with everyone in the lobby."
"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can." The Captain hung up the call. After getting ready, he picked up his smartphone one more time and opened up the texting app. Opening the pre-existing page of texts he exchanged with Snake, he began to type a message.
"Hello Snake,
Listen. Something has happened involving that girl I told you about. I have a feeling that a lot may change in the next few days, and I may not be around to reply for a while. I just hope that it's nothing serious and all will end well. When the time comes, I will let you know how it went. So, until then...take care.
- Captain Falcon
P.S. Samus misses you dearly, and she's awaiting your return someday. For my sake, I hope you return too. I miss sparring with you, and just talking about things too."
Pressing the Send button, he then put the phone down and headed down to the lobby.
...
A tense air hung in the lobby as the Smashers sat on couches and chairs all around, worried expressions on their faces. Spotting Shulk from afar, the Captain walked over to him. "Have you...heard anything yet?" He asked Shulk.
"Not yet," Shulk answered him, shaking his head sadly. "The search party, consisting of Samus, Link, Ryu, and the Duck Hunt duo went out half an hour ago looking for her. Hopefully the dog will be able to trace her scent..." He bowed his head, a solemn look in his eyes. "I just hope she's okay..."
"Yeah..." Falcon agreed.
"...You know," Zelda began, walking toward them, "I always thought that ever since a few days ago, Lucy had been acting strange...she'd become very distant."
"Zelda?" Captain Falcon was caught off guard at first. "Oh, right, you're Lucina's roommate..."
Zelda nodded. "I know that she'd been having a lot of nightmares before the incident..."
"Yeah, she told me too," Robin said, joining in on the conversation.
"Robin..." Falcon murmured.
"I'll still never forget how she pushed me out of harms' way that day," Robin said. "She's a good friend of ours...I just wonder what made her act like this."
"I wonder, too..." Falcon said quietly. I guess I'd better not mention about how I overheard from her about her nightmare that day...
Shulk heard a small noise coming from his pocket. He pulled out his smartphone. On the screen was a text from Samus, which said:
"After some investigation, the Duck Hunt team was able to track Lucina's scent. Apparently her last known location was the off-world teleporter. Reasons as to why she went there, or to which world, are currently unknown."
"What...?" Putting his phone away, Shulk stepped forward. "Everyone, may I have your attention? It appears our search team has discovered Lucina's last known whereabouts!"
Everyone who had been sitting down stood up, and in the blink of an eye, murmurs filled the air.
"Please do not panic," Shulk announced. "She was last spotted at the off-world teleporter. The reasons behind this are unknown, but it is assumed that she is safe for the time being."
"Off-world...teleporter...?" Robin mumbled.
"Is something the matter, Robin?" Zelda asked him.
"Shulk, if I may," Robin said, walking up to Shulk. "I remember the last time I saw Lucina, which was when she was recovering in the hospital, that she said that once she recovered, she'd like to try to train more. I just didn't think she meant like this..."
Falcon tensed up upon overhearing what Robin said to Shulk. You don't mean...
Almost immediately, Falcon turned toward the doors and ran into the streets.
"Falcon! Hey!" Robin called out after him, but to no avail as Falcon left the tower. Turning to Shulk, he asked, "What just...?"
"Stay there for the time being," Shulk advised Robin. "I'll go after him. The search team should be back soon, so they'll take things from there."
...
On the way to the building with the off-world teleporter, Falcon ran into the search team. "Huff...huff..." he panted, crouching over with his hands on his knees.
"Captain? Is something the matter?" Ryu asked.
"Ah...Ryu..." Falcon said, trying to catch his breath. "You're just the person I wanted to talk to."
"What is it?" Ryu questioned.
"I wanted to examine the last coordinates of the off-world transporter," the Captain replied. "I imagine you have access to the teleporter's logs. The others can head back to Smash Tower for now."
"Okay," Ryu said. "Everyone else, head back to the tower. I have some further investigation to carry out."
Heeding his words, the rest of the team headed back to the tower. Ryu and Falcon then began to walk toward the the building housing the teleporter.
"Hey! Wait!" Shulk called after the two, running.
"Shulk?" Ryu asked.
"...if it's fine with you, I'd like to find out where exactly Lucina is, too."
"What do you think, Captain?" Ryu asked Captain Falcon. The Captain nodded in response, saying, "Sure."
...
As the three walked up to the teleporter's control panel, Ryu entered his credentials, gaining him access to the teleporter's logs. "Let's see here...ah, found it."
"What is it?" Shulk asked.
"It appears Lucina teleported to Bionis, more precisely, to Gaur Plains, no less than an hour ago."
"Gaur Plains..." Shulk murmured.
"Ryu," the Captain said. "If I may, I would like to go after her and make sure she is alright."
Ryu seemed hesitant for a moment, but then answered, "Okay. I trust you'll know how to get back."
"I'll be fine," Falcon reassured him. "All the worlds have teleporters back to Smash City, right?"
"Yes," Ryu answered him. "So, you ready, Captain?"
"Yes."
"Hyah!" Lucina shouted as she dealt the finishing blow to the last Armu in the pack she decided to take on. Putting her sword away, she stood there and took it all in: the vast grass-covered landscape, the wind blowing through her hair, the rivers and lakes, the clear blue sky, and the wildlife inhabiting Gaur Plain. This was nothing at all like the simulations whenever she battled in tournaments.
"I suppose this may be a good place to train," she said to herself. Walking on ahead, she spotted a flock of Tirkin and began to sneak up on them when she felt the ground rumble and heard loud footsteps echo throughout the land. "What..."
The flock of Tirkin began to flee as a giant ape-like creature walked by. "What in the name of Naga is that...?" Lucina mumbled anxiously. "I have a bad feeling about this..." She began to crawl past, out of the monster's line of sight, then got up and began to slowly walk away when she stepped on a large, dried tree branch.
Hearing the noise, the monster immediately turned around and spotted Lucina.
"Crap...!" Lucina gasped. She began to run as the monster frantically chased her, roaring. She cut across running down the shallow river, feeling the tremors in the ground from the monster's steps. She could tell this monster was stronger than most of the other animals inhabiting the ecosystem here.
She ran along the grassy terrain again but unfortunately was cornered against a stony wall. The monster began to raise its left arm. Standing there paralyzed in fear, she thought, Is this it? Is this the end for me...? I was so foolish...
"Look out!" a familiar voice shouted. Just as the monster swung its arm toward Lucina, she felt herself being tackled away by someone, pushing her out of the way in the nick of time as the monster's arm crashed into the wall, knocking rocks down.
"Ugh..." she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes.
"Dammit, Lucina," her savior said, who turned out to be none other than Captain Falcon. "Are you trying to get yourself killed here?"
"You...?" She murmured. "You saved me...again..."
"Now's not the time to be worrying about that," Falcon said. "At the very least, we should try to take this thing down together. I'll help." Falcon got into his battle stance as Lucina drew her sword.
Attacking first, Falcon ran toward the beast and leapt toward it in an aerial kick. The attack seemed to be for naught as the monster grabbed Falcon and tossed him at a diagonal angle toward the ground.
"Augh!" Falcon cried in pain.
"Captain!"
"I'm fine...ngh..." Falcon grunted, slowly standing up.
Seeing the monster advance toward Falcon, Lucina immediately lunged toward it and began to hack and slash at it with her Falchion, doing some seemingly noticeable damage. The monster diverted its attention to the blue-haired swordwoman and held both its arms above her, poised to swing them down and bludgeon her, but she dodged out at the last second, running toward the Captain and helping him up. However, just as he stood up, the beast rapidly smacked them out of the way, knocking them both down a considerable distance to the right.
"Ngh..." Lucina groaned, slowly pushing herself up. "What are we...supposed to do -"
Just then, Lucina heard a voice, a female's voice with an accent similar to Shulk's, shout, "FINAL CROOOOOSSSS!" Immediately after, a burst of red light emerged from behind the beast, shocking it and causing it to fall to the ground.
"Is...that...?" Lucina whispered, standing up. Captain Falcon slowly stood up as well, noticing the person who toppled the beast. It was a young woman, about Shulk's age, with short dark blonde hair, green eyes, and what appeared to be a mechanical suit of armor on her body. Or perhaps this wasn't a suit of armor, but rather, a mechanical exoskeleton. The armor was beige with traces of gold and light blue, and she had two large drones on her back as well as a peculiar crest engraved into the armor's chest area. The young woman herself was wielding two long swords, one in each hand, which she put away.
"Fiora...!" Lucina cried joyously, running to her.
"Fiora...?" Falcon murmured, walking to the woman.
"Oh, hey, Lucina," Fiora said with a smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"I guess it has," Lucina said, chuckling nervously.
"Oh," Fiora said, noticing the Captain. "Who's he?"
"Ah...hello," Falcon said, extending his hand for a handshake. "You can call me Captain Falcon. It's nice to meet you, Fiora."
"Nice to meet you, too," Fiora said, shaking his hand.
"Um...guys..." Lucina said, glancing at the beast, who was beginning to get back up. Noticing this, Fiora drew her blades again. "Further introductions can wait till later. This is a Territorial Rotbart, and it's not gonna go down easy!"
Getting up, the Territorial Rotbart let out a loud roar and beat its chest with its hands.
"Now it's getting serious! Look out!" Fiora shouted. The three took a defensive stance as the beast ran to them.
Glancing at the two ladies, Captain Falcon said to them, "I have a plan. Lucina, when I count to three, you dodge forward, run behind this thing and slash it from behind. I'll take it from there and leave an opening for Fiora to finish it off. You ready?"
"Ready!" Lucina said, a determined look in her eyes.
"Ready," Fiora replied.
"Alright, here it comes," Falcon said as the Territorial Rotbart ran to them. The monster raised its arms above them again. "On three, everyone. One..."
"Two..." Fiora said.
In the split second before Territorial Rotbart swung down its arms again, Lucina shouted, "Three!" Just before the monster's fists hit the ground, Fiora dodged to the left, Falcon backflipped away, and Lucina rolled on the ground forward and ran around it to its back. There she sliced at it in a leaping attack. "Falcon!"
"Got it!" Falcon shouted, running toward the beast. Generating energy in his fist, he leaped toward it and shouted, "Falcon..." Then punching forward, he yelled "PUUUNCH!" A burst of flame erupted from his fist, and the sheer power of the punch knocked the monster back. "Now, Fiora!"
"Okay!" Fiora yelled, leaping into the air. The drones on her back came off and positioned themselves around her abdomen, charging up energy. She shouted, "Respond, and move! Cannon Drones!" A giant blast of energy shot forth from the drones, burning a hole into Territorial Rotbart's chest and killing it instantly.
After the monster fell, the three regrouped. "Hee hee..." Fiora giggled.
"Hmm?" the Captain asked.
"I must say," Fiora chimed, clapping her hands together, "That was some truly brilliant teamwork from you guys!"
"T-teamwork?" Lucina stammered, a slight blush creeping across her face. "You...think so?"
"Of course!" Fiora said. "Why, do you feel that's not the case? Did something happen?"
Sighing, Falcon interjected, "Well, you see..." He proceeded to explain everything to Fiora.
"I see..." Fiora said. "So something happened between you guys, and after an incident, Lucina decided to go training here by herself...It's a good thing I came here to help." Looking at Lucina, she continued, "But I suppose it's even better that he came here to protect you, Lucina. I think he just wants to mend the rift after what happened back then."
"You think so?" Lucina asked. She looked at the Captain, who met her gaze as well.
"I have an idea!" Fiora exclaimed. "Why don't you two train together?"
"Huh?" Both Lucina and Captain Falcon gasped, looking at each other.
"I'm serious!" Fiora said. "Lucina, you'll be able to train with the Captain protecting you...and hopefully, you'll be able to talk out whatever issues have been plaguing you."
"I..." Lucina murmured. Falcon looked away, anticipating her refusal, but then her response surprised him.
"Sure. I'll let him train me."
"Really...?" Falcon asked Lucina, a trace of uncertainty in his voice.
"Yes," Lucina replied. "He's saved me twice already. I feel I can trust him...and there was also that time I was in the hospital, when he visited, I..." She blushed as she continued, "I showed a moment of vulnerability, and...he was there to wipe my tears away."
"Awwwww!" Fiora gushed. "That's so sweet! Aren't you glad you have one of those strong-but-gentle types with you?"
"Ah..." Falcon murmured, blushing and hiding his face under his scarf.
"S-say, Fiora," Lucina said. "Were you really just passing through the area?"
"To tell the truth, no," Fiora replied. "Shulk told me last night about the initiative to bring over candidates from Smashers' home worlds, and others as well, to be considered to join the tournament. Shulk chose me as a candidate from his world, so I'll be meeting up with someone to interview me from Smash City soon. Shulk should drop by later on."
"Ah, okay," Lucina said. "When you see Shulk, could you tell him to tell the others back at Smash City that I'm undergoing some private training...?"
"...Sure," Fiora said. "Well then, I shall be off. If you need a place to stay upon nightfall, there's the old Colony 6 campout in the cave just to the east of the statue in the distance. I'll probably stop by later."
"Okay," Lucina said. "Take care." Fiora waved as she ran off.
"...Well then," the Captain said to Lucina, "Shall we begin training now?"
"Yes," Lucina said with a nod.
And so began their training that would take them various places as they trained to become stronger. What neither of them anticipated was by the time their training came to a close, their relationship would have changed a great deal...
OH MY GOD MECHA FIORA FROM XENOBLADE HAS BEEN CONFIRMED TO APPEAR IN PROJECT X ZONE 2 (AS WELL AS CHROM AND LUCINA, BUT YOU KNOW. MY HOMEGIRL FIORA THO) AND THIS MAY MEAN SHE COULD POSSIBLY GET INTO SMASH! OR AT LEAST I HOPE SO CAUSE I REALLY WANT HER TO BE DLC AAAAAA OH MY GOD
THAT CAMEO WAS SO HYPE AAAAAA
...anyway I decided to cut it off here cause it was getting very wordy and I didn't want to cram too much into one chapter. I wanted to say that, are there any other fics in which the Smashers visit their own or other Smashers' worlds? Not that it matters, I'm going on with my direction which involves that, so if I'm the pioneer in that regard, so be it. I hope I do the concept justice. If not, let me know of any other fics that do that.